Hats

I came across this photo taken at the Bathurst 12 hour race in 2015. I had overlooked it previously but I've now noticed the texture of the hats and the interplay of the light and shade and decided that it's worthy of appearing on the blog.
The hat wearers are looking into a pit and the photo was taken from the balcony running along the back of the first floor of the pit complex.
The photo was taken with a Sony a7 which I owned at the time and I was using a beautiful 90mm Zeiss lens which I was using on the Sony with an adapter and focusing manually. I did not like the Sony at all and although the Zeiss lens-originally from a Contax G series- is a superb lens manual focusing was too hard. After this I switched to the Leica X Vario.

A beautiful lens-Zeiss Planar 45mm f2.

Regular readers of the blog will know that I am a Leica fan. My enthusiasm for Leicas goes back a very long time - I bought my first in 1967-and I just like using them for all sorts of reasons but above all else for their lenses which are just stunning performers.
I also own a Sony a7 and for a change the weekend before last I did some photography of my grandsons using the a7 fitted with a Zeiss Planar 45mm F2 Contax G series lens which I borrowed from my son ( yes we are all into photography). This fits onto the Sony with a rather clunky adapter which has to turn as it operates the manual focussing of the lens.
This particular Zeiss lens is reputed to one of the sharpest lenses ever made and although it is an old design-and this particular lens is probably around 20 years old-it is still an incredible performer. The photos have a distinctly Zeiss look to them which is markedly different to the look from Leica lenses to my eyes.

I am not into pixel peeping and photographing walls for lens tests but I can say that even at very high magnifications the sharpness of photos from this lens is extraordinary even right into the corners and with the lens wide open. The sharpest lens I have ever used? I can't say but it certainly is up there.
You can find,with luck,find one of these lenses for sale for US$250-$500 depending on condition.

 It certainly holds its own with modern lenses but you do have to focus it manually and the adapter is clunky. Techart do make an electronic adapter which allows the a7's autofocus to work with the lens but I have not seen any reports on its performance and it is quite costly. I also see that B&H are advertising a DEO-Tech adapter which also promises to link the autofocus and the exposure controls. It is not available yet so there are no reviews of its performance.
All the photos below were taken with the lens wide open at F2.

Concentration

Concentration-grandson,Otto,playing with his model racing car transporter.
I used rangefinder Leica cameras for 40 years ending up with an M6 for the last 20 years upto 2008. Rangefinder cameras are manually focussed and the focussing is done by aligning two images in the viewfinder as you turn the focus ring on the lens. It can be very accurate and quick but needs skill and a lot of practice to do accurately every time. Apart from the fact that the M6 was not digital one of the reasons I sold it was the fact that I found very accurate focussing with the rangefinder was becoming increasingly difficult due to my weakening eye sight.
However I did like to use wide aperture lenses wide open to give a very narrow depth of field and to accurately focus on one point.
Using the Sony a7 with a vintage F1.8 50mm Minolta lens wide open manual focussing using the electronic focus peaking system is very easy and accurate. In this case I focussed just on Otto's nearest eyelashes. A lot easier and more accurate than it would be for me with a Leica rangefinder nowadays and strangely more satisfying than relying on autofocus. Nice IQ from the vintage Minolta lens-A$50 from EBay-and nice colour rendition.Sony RAW file processed in LR.

Show and shine time

It's the Australian Porsche Rennsport Reunion next weekend -Saturday and Sunday-at Sydney Motorsport Park- formerly Eastern Creek Raceway.
The first Australian Rennsport three years ago was a great success.This one is promising to be bigger and better. It is never going to rival the mega US Rennsport Reunion but there are only 24 million of us down here and we are spread out across a very big island. Let's hope the sun shines again this time.

I spent the morning polishing and detailing the exterior of my 2.2 which is entered in the Show and Shine. I'll do the interior tomorrow. The car is looking good but it stands no chance against some of the immaculate specimens which will be there.

By way of variety I used my Sony a7 with the Zeiss 28mm f2.8 Biogon for the photo because it has a tiltable LCD screen which allowed me to hold the camera above my head. The Zeiss Contax G series lenses are very sharp-Leica sharp. On the original file of the photo you can easily read the numbers on the tacho on the dashboard. These lenses are nearly the equal of the equivalent Leica lenses and they are a lot less expensive. But whilst they are very sharp and contrasty the images ultimately lack that distinct Leica look.
The major issue with using them on the Sony- or for that matter a Fuji- is that they have a built in focusing motor which was actuated by the autofocus system in the Contax G series camera and there is no way of manually adjusting the focus. When used on the Sony the lenses have to be manually focused so the adapter used to mount the lens on the Sony also has to do the manual focusing by moving the whole barrel of the lens in and out. It works but it is not that smooth. I have tried two different brands of adapters and both are a bit stiff and slightly "clunky" in their focusing action. They feel as if they need some of the WD40 in that can but I would not dream of applying WD40 anywhere near a lens or a camera.

Porsche 911 2.7 updated

The Rolling Road blog is now over 5 years old and the most popular post over the five years by far is a post I wrote on my 2.7 911 in May 2013 see- Porsche 2.7 which gets a few hits every day-yesterday there were 9. The reason I suspect is that if you Google Porsche 911 2.7 the 6th result is my story.

The values of all classic Porsches-except the still unloved 928s-have risen spectacularly in the past two years. Even values of the previously unloved 924 and 911 2.7 models have gone up -this rising tide has lifted (nearly) all boats.
So the 2.7 model is no longer a cheaper entry point into 911 ownership.
I am disappointed at the way prices have escalated recently. They are locking out genuine enthusiasts from owning early 911s and resulting in interesting cars going into collections where they are rarely if ever driven. Many are even being bought as investments with the buyers having absolutely no interest in them as cars.

In the nearly three years since I wrote the 2.7 story the car has done another 8000 kms. It has been serviced regularly but nothing mechanical has needed to be done to it although I did have the paintwork restored in July 2013 see PAINT.

Over the past few months it has not been driven due to the very hot weather and the crowded local roads over the summer holiday period.
I did give it a good run last week but when I started it the garage was filled with oil smoke. Old and even not so old 911s are smokey when they start after a long lay- off but this was the worst I had ever seen for my car. After that little episode which had me worried for a few minutes it ran beautifully in very hot conditions but it was a reminder that the engine is getting worn and that I need to start it regularly even when it is not being driven.

I have thought about replacing the headliner which is badly stained as the second owner was a heavy smoker. This would cost nearly a $1000 using original material and this helped me decide that it would stand out in contrast to the worn look of the rest of the interior and would detract from the originality of the car. So it stays as it is.
There are a few small dents in the doors due to contact with other car doors and probably shopping trolleys during its hard early life as a daily driver for an advertising executive in Sydney. It would be nice to have those taken out but that would mean a respray of the doors so I have decided to continue to live with them as well.

The car still has the original spacesaver tyre which inflates normally however I would not ever drive on a 38 year old tyre which has been scrunched up so I carry an aerosol can of tyre repair gunk and hope for the best. New spacesavers of that size are no longer made and as friend Warren has found out it is impossible to get the spacesaver off the wheel on his car without resorting to using a saw. Best to let that sleeping dog lie as well.

The driving lights dangling under the front bumper were factory fitted accessories. Given how bad the headlights are they are very useful.
About ten years ago I took them off when I was running the car in regularity events and hillclimbs but it looked odd without them so I put them back on after 6 months.

Sometimes I am envious of others with their always immaculate concours standard cars but in truth my slightly scruffy but very original car with its old style original number plates,well worn look and oily smell suits me down to the ground. I would find all that cleaning and worrying about stone chips very tiresome if I owned one of those pampered cars however good it looked.

The photos were taken on the Old Pacific Highway north of Brooklyn last week.This stretch of the Old Pacific Highway runs parallel to the M1 motorway for 30 kms between Somersby and Cowan north of Sydney. It is now only used by tourist traffic and on a weekday it is very quiet-just a few motorcyclists,a few cyclists,and the odd old guy in an old Porsche.
It was a great driver's road with almost continuous sweeping bends. It has been recently resurfaced and kms of armco barrier erected.There are glimpses of the Hawkesbury River but otherwise it passes through typical scrub and gumtrees. It is/was a very challenging road and sadly many motorcyclists have died on it in recent years. In response the authorities have applied blanket low speed limits which they strictly enforce with a strong mobile speed camera presence even on quiet days like last Wednesday.
It is all rather sad and I find it very frustrating to drive the road at the posted speed limits but last week a motorcyclist who thought he was Valentino Rossi riding a Ducati and leaning hard right over the centre line on a fast bend and so very nearly hitting his head on my side mirror was a reminder of why the speed limits had been imposed. We live in interesting times. Sometimes too interesting.

Bathurst 12 hours-another great race

It was the Bathurst 12 hour GT race last weekend.For overseas readers Bathurst is a country town about 3 hours drive over the Blue Mountains west of Sydney,Australia. It is also the home of one of the world's greatest motor racing circuits-Mount Panorama. It's up there with the Nordschleife Nurburgring. Better than Spa. And even better than Le Mans.Yes it's that good.
Every time I stand at the top of the mountain and watch the cars rocket across the top at Skyline and down the Dipper I just say wow-this is real motor racing.
One of the great aspects of the 12 hour race is that it is not expensive to attend and you have full access to the pits and the padddock on the general admission ticket. This may change in the future as the rapacious V8 Supercar organisation owned by private equity have bought 50% of the race and they do not have a good record of looking after any other interests but their own. Just like Formula 1. If they do screw it up it will be a great shame but money always talks and it is hard to be optimistic.
This year's race was cooler than last year's-thank goodness. It was hot in the afternoon but not heatstroke hot. And the race was just as exciting.There were 29 changes of lead in the 12 hours and five different marques made up the top five places-McLaren,Nissan,Bentley,Audi and Mercedes. And the winner set a new circuit lap record and won by just 1.8 seconds.
And the Stone and Wood draught beer in the Hotel Canobalas in Orange where I stayed tasted great Saturday evening and Sunday evening.
In summary it was a great weekend.
Some action photos from the race with some paddock photos in the next blog post.

The start at 5.45am.An early morning wake up as I stayed in Oprange -54kms away.

Dawn breaking,Brake rotors glowing at the end of Conrod Straight.

Porsche Cayman entering Caltex Chase in the early morning light

The winning McLaren setting an cracking early pace as the sun rises over the Blue Mountains in the distance

Fast food.The McDonalds sponsored Ferrari did not bring home the bacon.

Audi R8 powering up the Mountain

The second placed Nissan coming out of the Cutting late morning

The third placed Bentley

The fifth placed Mercedes SLS

Porsche class winner descending the Dipper

Winning Mclaren fighting Bentley for lead mid afternoon

Porsche coming down the Dipper

Porsche and Audi turning onto Syline at the top of the Mountain.

Fifth placed Mercedes coming down pitlane

Over Skyline and into the Dipper

All photos by JohnS using a Sony a7 and 90mm Zeiss Biogon and  200mm Minolta Rokkor lenses. Both manual focus lenses.The Zeiss lens is superb and gives beautiful results which barely need any processing.
The Minolta lens which I bought for A$12 off eBay gives surprisingly good results after work in Lightroom.
The irony is that I used to have a superb Canon 70-200 F2.8 lens and 2X converter but I sold all that gear years ago when I decided that my days of dragging a big lens and cameras around a race track were over. That was then this is now and at least the outfit I used on Sunday was light and small.

Nice Zeiss

I have a couple of beautiful Contax G mount Zeiss lenses. The Contax G series film cameras were made in Japan by Kyocera and were in their day competitors to the Leica M6 and M7 film cameras see CONTAX G SERIES    
The Contax G series cameras had autofocus and titanium bodies.They were beautiful cameras -I have one but sadly it is faulty and parts are no longer available.
The G series Zeiss lenses are very good-particularly the 45mm Planar which is reckoned to be one of the sharpest lenses ever made. I do not own a 45mm Planar but I do own a 28mm Biogon and a 90mm Sonnar-both of which are also very highly regarded. Both my lenses are mint and are complete with the original caps and the highly sought after titanium lens hoods.
The Zeiss Contax lenses are great performers and are not difficult to find as hundreds of thousands of Contax G series cameras were sold - particularly in Japan. However do not expect to find them at bargain basement prices.
I bought two adapters to use the Contax lenses on the Sony a7.The adapter is difficult to fit onto the lens so I bought two so to avoid having to move them from lens to lens. If you do not click them right in and get them into exactly the correct registration the lens will fall out of the adapter after you have mounted it onto the camera - not recommended treatment for a prime piece of glass.
A company called Techart makes an adapter which allows you to use the Contax lenses on the Sony a7 with autofocus. However the adapter costs nearly $400 and has had mixed reviews.
The 90mm f2.8 Sonnar is great to use wide open and being longer and wider aperture -a much wider aperture- than the lens on my Leica X Vario gives a totally different effect and colour rendition. Here are two photos taken with the 90mm Sonnar .The first is one of my grandaughters,Scarlett.The second is of a sleepy lady,Phoebe.

Less than a month to go....

A reminder to Aussie motor sport enthusiasts that it is less than one month to the 2016 Bathurst 12 hour GT race.This must be by far the best motor sport event in Australia with international and local drivers in GT cars on arguably one of the best and most challenging race circuits in the world. Make the effort -it'll be worth it.Just don't forget your hat,sunscreen and fly repellent.
Here's this years entry list ENTRY LIST .
And here's some race and practice photos from last year's 12 hour.

Cheep,cheap.

Two photos taken on my Sony a7 using a vintage 200mm Minolta lens which I bought off a Japanese seller on eBay for $12.
I was the only bidder.The postage cost $18.I used an $11 adapter to fit the lens onto the Sony-also purchased off eBay.
These vintage Minolta lenses were very well made and are worth seeking out for this sort of use.
Worry warts tell stories of Chinese cheap adapters having swarf on them and being machined off centre.I have quite a few cheap adapters and have never had any issues with them and definitely no swarf.Sounds like a story put about by retailers of expensive brand name adapters which are probably machined in the same Chinese factory anyway.
Firstly a parrot which was perching on the pool fence a couple of weeks ago.It sat there long enough for me to go upstairs,attach a long lens to a camera,come down,slide open the flyscreen door,manually focus the lens and take the one photo.The kookaburra,photographed two days ago,did exactly the same thing.It just waited long enough for the one shot.Very considerate.
There are dozens of parrots and kookaburras locally.Kookaburras are a member of the kingfisher family and they have a demonic and very distinctive call which sounds just like a laugh.They have incredible eyesight.They sit on a high vantage point waiting for a lizard to show itself and then dive down down and take it before the lizard has time to think.

On gearlever knobs

Just to emphasise the point made in the previous story about the recent major advances in technology in cameras and the processing software this photo of my 1971 911's gearshift knob was taken at 1/100th second at F1.7 at 6400 ISO in my garage.I used the Sony a7 with a 50mm Minolta lens.The Velvia film used in the Indian photos in the previous post was 50 ISO.
This gearlever knob is the original knob which was moved from the original gearlever to the Rennshift quickshift lever when I fitted the quickshifter .Why did I fit the quickshifter and detract from the originality of the car? Because I wanted to change gear without feeling that I was stirring a pudding full of golf balls.The quickshifter did significantly improve the gearshift quality but it is still a black art. One which I have not totally mastered after 6 years of use.
Gearlever knobs were the original go faster car accessory.In the UK there was a jazz musician and very accomplished racing driver called Les Leston who started a motor accessory business in the 1960s. It became very succesful and Les Leston made a lot of money which he was able to enjoy until the ripe old age of 91. Considering he had been a very succesful racing driver during the sport's most dangerous years and before that he had served as a gunner in Lancasters in RAF Bomber Command during the second world war and he had been married three times reaching that age was a very major achievement.
Les Leston pioneered fireproof race suits.He sold everything from gearlever knobs and keyfobs to steering wheels.There was even a Graham Hill F1 World Champion line of accessories which included neckties.Can you imagine a car accessory shop selling neckties today? Times have changed.
Les Leston had sales vans which went to all the UK race meetings and as well as selling through stores such as Halfords he had his own big retail shop in High Holborn, London opposite my favourite store as a young boy,Gamages.I used to go by train from my home in N Surrey upto London with a friend on a Saturday morning when I was just 12 and spend the whole day wandering around in looking at shops such as Les Leston's and watching the Horse Guards in Hyde Park.My parents seemed to have no concerns at all. No stranger danger then.That's where my wandering around in cities bug developed.

A change of pace

Time for a break from hot rods and dressing up.A more tranquil scene-Wallace Lake in the Myall Lakes National Park,NSW in October 2015.Even in the height of summer these places are not really crowded but on an early spring day it is very quiet.We don't really have a distinct spring season-winter gradually transitions into the beginnings of summer.The days just start getting warmer and longer and then after a few more weeks shopping centres start putting up Christmas decorations and santa claus and his reindeers which looks really odd when it is blistering hot outside.I saw the first Christmas decorations in the second week of October this year.
Wallace Lake is renowned for its oysters.They are plump and well just delicious.And if you don't like oysters you really don't know what you are missing.
 Sony a7 photo.

Cars and bikes

It was the monthly drive down to catch up with Porsche groupees and other car and bike enthusiasts at the Pie in the Sky Cowan yesterday. Not many attendees -it must have been the inclement weather after the 5 day heatwave. But some interesting stuff anyway. The Yamaha bike is an 1984 XJ750 -the world's first series production bike with fuel injection. It also has a digital instrument pack another first at the time. Only 2200 were ever made and only for the Japanese market. Bit of an odd looking bike with its Battlestar Galactica styling but rarer than rocking horse droppings.

The weird colour car beside me in the mirror shot is actually a Porsche Boxster.Hard to believe but someone actually ordered the car in that colour.
For the photos I was playing with a Minolta f1.7 50mm lens on the Sony a7 as a change from the Leica toys. The Minolta lens I picked up on eBay for A$50. It is in VGC and is pretty sharp and gives great colour. It's manual focus but it's easy to use - particularly wide open as most of these shots were.